Best late model B-17G in 1/72 scale?

[Dutch]

So, my friend finally located a photo of her father's B-17G-70-DL 44-6915 "The Rebel Rousers" from the 379th Bomb Group.  So now I am hunting the best 1/72 scale late model kit.  According to production standard, it should have a Cheyenne tail turret and possibly staggered waist gun positions.  I am leaning toward some of the Hasegawa kits which show a Cheyenne turret on the box art, and possibly the Academy B-17G.  Also, I cannot find 379th BG decals anywhere!  You'd think they would be as plentiful as othe rbomb groups, but nada, zip, zilch, that I can find.  Any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated. K/r, Dutch

 

[barkin mad]

I think the new tool Airfix kit will be your best bet, it's better detailed than the Hasegawa kit, though that's a moot point as most of it won't be seen. It does have staggered waist guns and the only the tail turret in your pic above (may need to replace all the guns, I've read of them not being great). The Academy kit has issues with the wing dihedral but it is fixable. There is also the Revell (Germany) kit, but I've heard some modellers say the nose looks odd. It does come with both tail turret options.

 

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[Dutch]

Thank you! That is a great help. Also, I located some 379th BG decals by Kits World. 

[ChesshireCat]

I actually have all of these kits in the stash. I still like the Revell best for the normal B17g. The Airfix is nice, but the internal detail looks kinda clunky (but who's gonna see it anyway) The Revell kit has the normal waist guns while the Airfix guns are staggered. The Hasegawa kit actually looks the part, but lacks a lot of detail. The Academy kits are better than the Hasegawa, and come in a far wider range of variations. Yet like Hasegawa; they just seem dull. Myself, I'd go with the Airfix, but you may have to modify the waist guns if they are not staggered. Lastly: beware of Kitsworld decals!!! I have found them rife with errors, and they seem to have a quality control issue lately. Lets all beg HKM to scale down their 1/48th kit to 1/72nd scale!

 

I almost forgot something! The surface finish isn't great on any of them, but the Academy and Hasegawa are the easiest to get around it a little bit. Study your airframe closely as the B17 seems to have been in a constant state of evolution. If you have the airframe S/N you can seriously research it.

gary

[Dutch]

Gary, Thanks for the assessment of available 1/72 B-17G kits and the warning on the KitsWorld decals. I think I will only use the triangle K markings anyway.  I will make the serial from spares. On the other hand I do see that Montex offers both window and markings masks that I could use instead of the KW decals. K/r,  Dutch 

[ChesshireCat]

2 hours ago, Dutch said:

Gary, Thanks for the assessment of available 1/72 B-17G kits and the warning on the KitsWorld decals. I think I will only use the triangle K markings anyway.  I will make the serial from spares. On the other hand I do see that Montex offers both window and markings masks that I could use instead of the KW decals. K/r,  Dutch 

best of luck to you. I vowed that I'd never do another 1/48th four engine bomber, but took the HKM bait! Now I'm about ready to plunk the money I don't really have on two B17f's. Their surface texture is what sold me. Just looks the part. On the plus side for you is that there is plenty of A.M. parts. I'd highly recommend a set of resin engines for starters. The Airfix turrets start out fine, but their idea of a fifty cal is toy like (think wooden toys).  I bought four or five Lancasters, and finally bit the bullet and bought a Hasegawa, Then another!  Back to the Airfix kits. I have an idea of combining the Revell parts with the Airfix kits to build a very late B17g is a shiny silver finish. Every now and then I see a started one for sale dirt cheap. Then build the Revell kit as a wreck. 

gary

P.S. I've seen your work, so I already know you'll do it well

glt

[Dutch]

Gary, Thanks for the vote of confidence.  I won't add too much detail, as my friend barely knows the difference between a B-17 & a B-24.  I will hold off the resin, may buy the brass .50 call barrels, and will probably opt for the masks to make the triangle K markings.  Thanks for the help. K/r, Dutch

[ChesshireCat]

6 hours ago, Dutch said:

Gary, Thanks for the vote of confidence.  I won't add too much detail, as my friend barely knows the difference between a B-17 & a B-24.  I will hold off the resin, may buy the brass .50 call barrels, and will probably opt for the masks to make the triangle K markings.  Thanks for the help. K/r, Dutch

your always welcome

gary

[Tato]

Be aware of the Airfix kit. I read that some people got the kit with the cheyenne tail turret badly undersize. Could have been an early batch production, but I'm not sure.

 

Regards,

Tato

[ChesshireCat]

23 hours ago, Tato said:

Be aware of the Airfix kit. I read that some people got the kit with the cheyenne tail turret badly undersize. Could have been an early batch production, but I'm not sure.

 

Regards,

Tato

I checked my two kits when this came about, and mine were good to go. I just think it was one bad lot of parts. It's a great kit for a late B17g, but as I've said on and on; I prefer the early versions to the later versions. Yet I would have prefered they done a B17f instead.

gary